Nik // Data and Ethics
@dataethics.bsky.social
Data and the ethics of its use, including overly hyped AI.
Pinned
While every news site and Hollywood name remember Val Kilmer, who sadly passed away on Tuesday - X, formerly Twitter, ("the public town square" and "more credible than the traditional news media [Elon Musk]" is quite clear that his death has been..."falsely reported".
Reposted by Nik // Data and Ethics
“Either we have copyright law or we don’t. Either plagiarism and the theft of intellectual property are anathema to higher education or they aren’t. We’re either modeling academic honesty and integrity to our students or we aren’t.” —@thetattooedprof.bsky.social
www.chronicle.com/article/some... 1/n
www.chronicle.com/article/some... 1/n
Advice | Sometimes We Resist AI for Good Reasons
Why higher ed needs to listen to the contrarians in setting policies on using tools like ChatGPT in faculty work.
www.chronicle.com
September 24, 2025 at 9:12 PM
“Either we have copyright law or we don’t. Either plagiarism and the theft of intellectual property are anathema to higher education or they aren’t. We’re either modeling academic honesty and integrity to our students or we aren’t.” —@thetattooedprof.bsky.social
www.chronicle.com/article/some... 1/n
www.chronicle.com/article/some... 1/n
Reposted by Nik // Data and Ethics
Microsoft Word to begin saving people's documents in the cloud *by default*
Reminder that LibreOffice is free and a good drop-in replacement for Microsoft Office software: www.libreoffice.org
www.theverge.com/news/767522/...
Reminder that LibreOffice is free and a good drop-in replacement for Microsoft Office software: www.libreoffice.org
www.theverge.com/news/767522/...
Microsoft Word now automatically saves new documents to the cloud
Word documents will be automatically saved to OneDrive
www.theverge.com
September 3, 2025 at 12:23 PM
Microsoft Word to begin saving people's documents in the cloud *by default*
Reminder that LibreOffice is free and a good drop-in replacement for Microsoft Office software: www.libreoffice.org
www.theverge.com/news/767522/...
Reminder that LibreOffice is free and a good drop-in replacement for Microsoft Office software: www.libreoffice.org
www.theverge.com/news/767522/...
There are legal implications behind social media posts made to fit a fake persona or appeal to a certain group. You can be legally punished for those. Is the recognition that an AI could be making it up better or worse for social cohesion and free speech? Will people be punished the same way?
Wow… Imagine how boring it will be to text in 2030. Most people haven't realized it yet, but a major disempowerment-by-design wave is already here:
August 31, 2025 at 3:08 PM
There are legal implications behind social media posts made to fit a fake persona or appeal to a certain group. You can be legally punished for those. Is the recognition that an AI could be making it up better or worse for social cohesion and free speech? Will people be punished the same way?
I am a huge fan of topical sarcasm. :)
"In the Future All Food Will Be Cooked in a Microwave, and if You Can’t Deal With That Then You Need to Get Out of the Kitchen" www.colincornaby.me/2025/08/in-t...
"In the Future All Food Will Be Cooked in a Microwave, and if You Can’t Deal With That Then You Need to Get Out of the Kitchen" www.colincornaby.me/2025/08/in-t...
In the Future All Food Will Be Cooked in a Microwave, and if You Can’t Deal With That Then You Need to Get Out of the Kitchen
Update 8/8/2025 – I wrote this the day before a certain post by a popular developer services company. I’ve seen some comments this is a rebuttal – it wasn’t meant to be! But…
www.colincornaby.me
August 25, 2025 at 1:20 PM
I am a huge fan of topical sarcasm. :)
"In the Future All Food Will Be Cooked in a Microwave, and if You Can’t Deal With That Then You Need to Get Out of the Kitchen" www.colincornaby.me/2025/08/in-t...
"In the Future All Food Will Be Cooked in a Microwave, and if You Can’t Deal With That Then You Need to Get Out of the Kitchen" www.colincornaby.me/2025/08/in-t...
Reposted by Nik // Data and Ethics
Join our keynotes Simon Wardley, Sander Hoogendoorn and Sarah Wells, and be part of the 12th annual Lean Agile Scotland conference.
Meet fellow practitioners, gain practical tools and share ideas in Edinburgh this September.
Join us there: leanagile.scot/tickets
Meet fellow practitioners, gain practical tools and share ideas in Edinburgh this September.
Join us there: leanagile.scot/tickets
August 21, 2025 at 11:00 AM
Join our keynotes Simon Wardley, Sander Hoogendoorn and Sarah Wells, and be part of the 12th annual Lean Agile Scotland conference.
Meet fellow practitioners, gain practical tools and share ideas in Edinburgh this September.
Join us there: leanagile.scot/tickets
Meet fellow practitioners, gain practical tools and share ideas in Edinburgh this September.
Join us there: leanagile.scot/tickets
Reposted by Nik // Data and Ethics
Find me on substack. thisisandyday.substack.com
Andy Day | Substack
Photographer. Writer. Geek. Climber. Click to read Andy Day, a Substack publication. Launched 5 months ago.
thisisandyday.substack.com
August 17, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Find me on substack. thisisandyday.substack.com
Reposted by Nik // Data and Ethics
“.. Fears of a bubble are mounting, as tech stocks follow a pattern that is ‘surprisingly similar’ to the dot-com bubble of the late 1990s ..”
@bloomberg.com $QQQ
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
@bloomberg.com $QQQ
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
August 19, 2025 at 9:55 AM
“.. Fears of a bubble are mounting, as tech stocks follow a pattern that is ‘surprisingly similar’ to the dot-com bubble of the late 1990s ..”
@bloomberg.com $QQQ
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
@bloomberg.com $QQQ
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Reposted by Nik // Data and Ethics
@carissaveliz.bsky.social I started a petition to ask the government to ban the harvesting of behavioural data.
Perhaps you could boost it to your network?
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/71...
#privacy #surveillancecapitalism #petition
Perhaps you could boost it to your network?
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/71...
#privacy #surveillancecapitalism #petition
Petition: Ban behavioural data extraction for advertising
Ban the extraction of peoples behavioural data for advertising purposes. This extraction can happen on most internet-connected devices 24/7. Data is sold through Real Time Bidding (RTB) system which i...
petition.parliament.uk
August 18, 2025 at 9:53 PM
@carissaveliz.bsky.social I started a petition to ask the government to ban the harvesting of behavioural data.
Perhaps you could boost it to your network?
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/71...
#privacy #surveillancecapitalism #petition
Perhaps you could boost it to your network?
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/71...
#privacy #surveillancecapitalism #petition
The most unsubtle, yet brilliantly done, argument on popular Podcasts and the "both sides" argument. www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBq3...
When Podcasts Platform Terrible People
YouTube video by Ryan George
www.youtube.com
August 17, 2025 at 10:10 PM
The most unsubtle, yet brilliantly done, argument on popular Podcasts and the "both sides" argument. www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBq3...
Reposted by Nik // Data and Ethics
ChatGPT Agent clicks the 'I'm not a bot' button because "this step is necessary to prove I'm not a bot."
Everything is fine in AI.
Everything is fine in AI.
July 29, 2025 at 1:08 PM
ChatGPT Agent clicks the 'I'm not a bot' button because "this step is necessary to prove I'm not a bot."
Everything is fine in AI.
Everything is fine in AI.
Reposted by Nik // Data and Ethics
“Nobody loved the library more than Dan.”
A meticulous list kept by Dan Pelzer from 1962-2025, cataloging all the books he borrowed and read from the Columbus Metropolitan Library, shared by his daughter.
I could not could not love this more.
Dan's book list (all 109 pages) at what-dan-read.com
A meticulous list kept by Dan Pelzer from 1962-2025, cataloging all the books he borrowed and read from the Columbus Metropolitan Library, shared by his daughter.
I could not could not love this more.
Dan's book list (all 109 pages) at what-dan-read.com
July 23, 2025 at 9:47 AM
“Nobody loved the library more than Dan.”
A meticulous list kept by Dan Pelzer from 1962-2025, cataloging all the books he borrowed and read from the Columbus Metropolitan Library, shared by his daughter.
I could not could not love this more.
Dan's book list (all 109 pages) at what-dan-read.com
A meticulous list kept by Dan Pelzer from 1962-2025, cataloging all the books he borrowed and read from the Columbus Metropolitan Library, shared by his daughter.
I could not could not love this more.
Dan's book list (all 109 pages) at what-dan-read.com
Reposted by Nik // Data and Ethics
Disinformation warriors are ‘grooming’ chatbots - on.ft.com/46hV6qW via @FT
Disinformation warriors are ‘grooming’ chatbots
Russian hackers are exploring ways to inject propaganda into the training data of generative AI models
on.ft.com
July 17, 2025 at 9:04 PM
Disinformation warriors are ‘grooming’ chatbots - on.ft.com/46hV6qW via @FT
Reposted by Nik // Data and Ethics
“Let’s just grab all the books we can for AI training, what could possibly go wro-”
chatgptiseatingtheworld.com/2025/07/17/a...
chatgptiseatingtheworld.com/2025/07/17/a...
July 18, 2025 at 3:30 PM
“Let’s just grab all the books we can for AI training, what could possibly go wro-”
chatgptiseatingtheworld.com/2025/07/17/a...
chatgptiseatingtheworld.com/2025/07/17/a...
Reposted by Nik // Data and Ethics
🚨 Today, we've filed complaints against TikTok, AliExpress and WeChat
👉 All of them failed to comply with access requests. This makes it impossible for Europeans to exercise their right to privacy and find out how their data is being processed.
noyb.eu/en/how-tikto...
👉 All of them failed to comply with access requests. This makes it impossible for Europeans to exercise their right to privacy and find out how their data is being processed.
noyb.eu/en/how-tikto...
How TikTok, AliExpress & WeChat ignore your GDPR rights
All three companies failed to adequately answer the complainants' access requests
noyb.eu
July 17, 2025 at 7:01 AM
🚨 Today, we've filed complaints against TikTok, AliExpress and WeChat
👉 All of them failed to comply with access requests. This makes it impossible for Europeans to exercise their right to privacy and find out how their data is being processed.
noyb.eu/en/how-tikto...
👉 All of them failed to comply with access requests. This makes it impossible for Europeans to exercise their right to privacy and find out how their data is being processed.
noyb.eu/en/how-tikto...
Hopefully the government can avoid locking into new contracts with Google for what is essentially untested technology. Replacing multiple tech contracts for one could be far worse for the tax payer.
More evidence today that the UK government values American AI companies more highly than the rights of British creators.
www.gov.uk/government/n...
🧵 1/n
www.gov.uk/government/n...
🧵 1/n
July 9, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Hopefully the government can avoid locking into new contracts with Google for what is essentially untested technology. Replacing multiple tech contracts for one could be far worse for the tax payer.
If there was another World War getting the facts will be even harder with modern technology.
July 5, 2025 at 8:03 PM
If there was another World War getting the facts will be even harder with modern technology.
It didn't occur to me that people would be so bad at their job that they would use GenAI for it. Not to help or supplement, but to provide the solution. It was not built for that. Professionals should be struck of for this abuse.
GenAI enshittification goes big time
First time a judge has decided a case based on hallucinated case law in the US that I've encountered.
caselaw.findlaw.com/court/ga-cou...
caselaw.findlaw.com/court/ga-cou...
July 4, 2025 at 7:12 AM
It didn't occur to me that people would be so bad at their job that they would use GenAI for it. Not to help or supplement, but to provide the solution. It was not built for that. Professionals should be struck of for this abuse.
It's not a huge surprise that a GenAI will respond to a fake image as if it is true. It will assume it is, what else could it do? Though a GenAI that actively tries to deduce the truth could be even more amusing.
If you reverse image search this with Google, the AI will tell you this is highlighting a "controversial past tweet" from Mamdani. It calls "his" tweet highly insensitive and says it trivializes what happens that day.
June 29, 2025 at 7:08 PM
It's not a huge surprise that a GenAI will respond to a fake image as if it is true. It will assume it is, what else could it do? Though a GenAI that actively tries to deduce the truth could be even more amusing.
Has anyone tracked the downfall of Google quality since the retirement of the "Don't be evil" goal? The days of using Google as a main search engine are long gone.
In just a few years, Google went from being the gold standard to literally being compared with mold.
Why is Sundar still the CEO?
Why is Sundar still the CEO?
June 29, 2025 at 6:38 PM
Has anyone tracked the downfall of Google quality since the retirement of the "Don't be evil" goal? The days of using Google as a main search engine are long gone.
Reposted by Nik // Data and Ethics
Reposted by Nik // Data and Ethics
AI scraping bots looking for training data are overwhelming the servers of libraries and archives, making valuable, public resources unavailable to people. We are losing access to original writing and getting gimmicky writing in return through LLMs. #AIEthics #writers
www.404media.co/ai-scraping-...
www.404media.co/ai-scraping-...
AI Scraping Bots Are Breaking Open Libraries, Archives, and Museums
"This is a moment where that community feels collectively under threat and isn't sure what the process is for solving the problem.”
www.404media.co
June 22, 2025 at 5:11 PM
AI scraping bots looking for training data are overwhelming the servers of libraries and archives, making valuable, public resources unavailable to people. We are losing access to original writing and getting gimmicky writing in return through LLMs. #AIEthics #writers
www.404media.co/ai-scraping-...
www.404media.co/ai-scraping-...
Reposted by Nik // Data and Ethics
"He couldn't get Grok to align with his own personal beliefs so he is going to rewrite history to make it conform to his views."
Latest from @garymarcus.bsky.social
Latest from @garymarcus.bsky.social
1984, but with LLM’s
“Who controls the past,’ ran the Party slogan, ‘controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.’” - 1984, George Orwell
substack.com
June 21, 2025 at 8:02 PM
"He couldn't get Grok to align with his own personal beliefs so he is going to rewrite history to make it conform to his views."
Latest from @garymarcus.bsky.social
Latest from @garymarcus.bsky.social
Bad technology is funny. Until it actually harms people, then it's a lot less funny.
This is what happens when people (and companies) treat AI as a goal and not as a means. Reminders:
AI is an automation tool
AI is supplementary
AI is not suitable for every task
AI requires oversight
AI can make you worse off
AI is an automation tool
AI is supplementary
AI is not suitable for every task
AI requires oversight
AI can make you worse off
June 17, 2025 at 9:57 PM
Bad technology is funny. Until it actually harms people, then it's a lot less funny.
Reposted by Nik // Data and Ethics
Disney & Universal finally decided to pursue IP infringement lawsuit against Midjourney. It's glorious. @garymarcus.bsky.social & @rahll.bsky.social 's great Jan '24 piece "Generative AI has a Visual Plagiarism Problem" cited heavily.
H/t to @edzitron.com
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
H/t to @edzitron.com
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
storage.courtlistener.com
June 11, 2025 at 6:09 PM
Disney & Universal finally decided to pursue IP infringement lawsuit against Midjourney. It's glorious. @garymarcus.bsky.social & @rahll.bsky.social 's great Jan '24 piece "Generative AI has a Visual Plagiarism Problem" cited heavily.
H/t to @edzitron.com
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
H/t to @edzitron.com
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Reposted by Nik // Data and Ethics
🖊️ Save the date, CPDP attendees!
On Thursday, noyb lawyer Felix Mikolasch will attend a panel on "Delivering on Children’s Rights Online: An Improved Digital World for All?"
More details: cpdp.be/4624
👋 If you're at the conference, come by and say hi!
On Thursday, noyb lawyer Felix Mikolasch will attend a panel on "Delivering on Children’s Rights Online: An Improved Digital World for All?"
More details: cpdp.be/4624
👋 If you're at the conference, come by and say hi!
May 21, 2025 at 9:00 AM
🖊️ Save the date, CPDP attendees!
On Thursday, noyb lawyer Felix Mikolasch will attend a panel on "Delivering on Children’s Rights Online: An Improved Digital World for All?"
More details: cpdp.be/4624
👋 If you're at the conference, come by and say hi!
On Thursday, noyb lawyer Felix Mikolasch will attend a panel on "Delivering on Children’s Rights Online: An Improved Digital World for All?"
More details: cpdp.be/4624
👋 If you're at the conference, come by and say hi!